Forum Moderators: mack
I have a feeling the prevailing answer in this thread will be:
Freebies.
Find a friend, family member, local business maybe... anyone you know who could benefit from having a simple website, but who won't be devastated if the site doesn't turn out perfect- and tell them you'll design it for free. I think most of us got our start that way.
Some other avenues are:
-Design templates for template-selling companies... you can put these on your portfolio as design examples.
-Just do some main page designs and label them on your portfolio/website as design sketches, excersices, or abandonded projects... even the most successful designers still display their unused/incomplete designs in their portfolios if the designs deserve to be there.